Mark Latham has refused to confirm whether he is behind a Twitter account that has attacked prominent Australians in a heated and hostile appearance at the Melbourne Writers Festival during which he verbally clashed with audience members and others.

In his first public appearance since quitting a regular column at The Australian Financial Review amid controversy over public abuse, the former Labor leader described the last eight days as creating his own humour in the "theatre of the absurd we call Australian politics".

At various points he abused the event host, ABC Radio National host Jonathan Green, calling him: "a non-stop bagger and sneerer" and an "ABC wanker".Advertisement

At other times Mr Latham also clashed with people in the audience who challenged him on personal attacks, criticism of prominent women and the booing of Sydney Swans footballer Adam Goodes.

"This is how I talk in the western suburbs of Sydney in the pub, with my mates at sporting events. And if you don't like it you can f--- off," he said to one audience member.

"What's wrong with a bit of unfiltered conversation and the word f--- and c---?"

A handful of audience members were seen walking out of the event.

Mr Latham has been the source of controversy in recent weeks over abusive tweets sent from the Twitter account @RealMarkLatham and columns he has written this year for the Financial Review.

At the centre of the argument is disparaging comments Mr Latham made in columns about transgender military official Catherine McGregor (whom he described as "he/she") and Australian of the Year and family violence campaigner Rosie Batty.

The @RealMarkLatham account has also targeted both and others with abusive tweets.

Mr Latham has never confirmed he is behind the account. But news and entertainment site Buzzfeed published two articles presenting evidence that suggests he is, including that specific anecdotes tweeted from the account were later used by Mr Latham in newspaper columns.

Asked directly on several occasions by Green and others if he was behind the Twitter account, Mr Latham said he would not because he was pursuing a commercial media opportunity to tell his side of the story.

During the event, he went on again to personally attack Ms McGregor, Ms Batty and numerous others in the media and public life.

Financial Review editor Michael Stutchbury posted a lengthy explanation of the departure on the news outlet's website on Friday, which said Mr Latham had chosen to quit.

Mr Latham told the audience he had taken pride in researching everything he wrote in the now-defunct column and no error had ever been found.

"None of these left feminist activists went to the Press Council to complain and seek any correction for anything I said that was inaccurate," he said.

He said there was now no outer suburban columnists in the Australian media with the last one - himself - now gone. But he said he would continue to express his opinions, but now unfiltered of the niceties of the Financial Review.

He said class politics was alive in Australia and, while people had been happy with his past criticism of Labor power brokers, action to kick him off the paper started when he began "rousing the rich girls".

Mr Latham went on to say the problem with the "left feminist elite" was that criticism was seen as being derogatory.

"I am such a big misogynist that I decided I am out of politics, I'd stay at home to look after the children and support my wife's law career," Mr Latham said.

Mr Latham's address at the festival was supposed to have been on whether former politicians could write objectively on politics. Later in the talk, as the temperature in the room cooled a little, he spoke more clearly about being a stay at home dad, Tony Abbott and politics more broadly.

At one point he revealed he had lunch in Liverpool, Sydney, with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten early last year to discuss a range of policy issues. He added he helped write some of Mr Shorten's budget reply that year, but there had been no more contact from mid-2014.

After the event, the official Twitter account of the Melbourne Writers Festival said: "We're disappointed in Mark Latham's #MWF15 appearance today. Not the respectful conversation we value."